


bobcat

by hey_you_with_the_face



Series: living with a wood nymph [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Established Relationship, Getting a Pet, Human Dean, M/M, Wood Nymph Castiel, Worried Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 06:26:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hey_you_with_the_face/pseuds/hey_you_with_the_face
Summary: Cas returns from one of his occasional visits to his people, an event that Dean is ecstatic about. However, the furry friend in his boyfriend's arms? Yeah, not so much....





	bobcat

**Author's Note:**

> Totally didn't plan on finishing this today but continued writer's block on down time and alchemy, automail & affection (though I did manage to get _some_ words down on those over my vacation) seems to have decided that I should work on the other stories I have in my google docs.
> 
> Finishing this today is also a bit spooky since I got a comment today on the original story for the first time in a long while.
> 
> Also, warning for a bit of a time jump...

Dean grimaced as he looked outside. There was another healthy layer of frost covering the sad dull brown remains of his usually vibrantly green yard. His bushes were mere ghosts of their former selves and the small tree he’d planted at the corner of his yard was stark naked, its leaves having abandoned it weeks ago. It was officially that horrible time between the nice looking and colorful portion of fall and the picturesque (if annoying) snowy time of winter. True he generally hated the end of fall and winter to begin with but he was feeling more anxious than bitter this time.

Mainly because Cas still hadn’t come back from his trip to the forest yet.

It turned out that being in a relationship with a wood nymph wasn’t the much different that dating a regular partner. Well, except for the fact that Cas seemed to be completely inept at passing himself off as a human. Dean had tried to teach him the ropes before they’d even started dating; the beginning of their friendship had consisted of almost daily human 101 lessons such as wearing clothes in public, not telling people that he was a wood nymph, and not interpreting for people’s household pets to tell the owner that Mr. Fluffernutter would prefer to be called Eugene.

You know, the usual stuff.

They’d been able to cover for a lot of Cas’ strange behavior by hiding behind the hippie card. The majority of people were more than willing to accept that the weird shit Cas did was just a by product of being born and raised in a hippie commune which wasn’t entirely a lie considering what Cas had told him about the realm deep in the woods where he said the rest of the local area’s nymphs lived. It place in the middle of the woods where the nymphs could meet and recharge in safety several times a year; it was where Cas was at the moment and why Dean was staring out his kitchen window with increasing anxiety.

Cas had warned him that he would be gone for a few days, just as he did every time he had to go back to his people, but this was the first time Cas hadn’t come home on time. Usually Cas would disappear for about three or four days every two months or so, leaving Dean to low key worry about him getting eaten by a bear (“That’s ridiculous, Dean. Bears have no interest in eating a nymph.”) but then he’d be back, looking bright eyed and bushy tailed to boot. Apparently going to the village allowed Cas to recharge his energy or something but it never took more than a few days. 

So Dean felt he was entitled to worry a bit considering Cas had been gone over a week.

“Come on, Cas,” he muttered, his breath fogging slightly on the chilled glass. “Don’t make come looking for the magic fairy village.”

But despite his protests, Dean had already gathered some heavy clothes and a unearthed his pair of hiking boots from his disaster of a closet. He’d also put a GPS on his phone so he could find his way through the woods if he got lost. If Cas wasn’t back by tomorrow morning, he was indeed going on a mission to find magic town.

Whether he was ready or not.

 

Dark had completely fallen when Dean heard the back door rattle open and the sound instantly squashed the ever growing knot in his chest.

Cas was back.

_Thank you,_ Dean said to the universe or whatever was in charge of these sorts of things before leaping up off the couch; his socked feet sliding on the hardwood floor. “Cas! Finally! I was going start planning a rescue mission to fairy town to come and get you, what---?”

The rest of Dean’s completely justified question of what the hell had taken Cas so long was lost in his throat as his eyes took in the sight in front of him.

A tired and decidedly ragged looking Cas stood in the doorway leading to the backyard, the heavy blanket Dean had insisted he take with him to keep him warm (since Cas also insisted on wearing only his “traditional” clothing which consisted of his kilt-thing) wrapped into a bundle in his arms. Cas’ appearance wasn’t what had Dean frozen from shock.

No, that award went to the furry little feline face poking out of the blanket blob.

“Is--is that a-a fucking bobcat?!”

In true Cas fashion, this outburst was met with a completely calm response. “Yes, this is a bobcat kitten.”

Dean’s eyelid twitched slightly and part of him wondered why he’d been so anxious to have Cas home again; he’d managed to go an entire week without weird shit happening. It took a second but eventually he managed to fall back into his usual headspace for dealing with Cas’ crazy wood nymph mindset.

“And why do you have a bobcat kitten,” Dean asked, quite calmly he thought. The kitten seemed to find this conversation fascinating, its shocking blue eyes flicking back and forth between him and Cas. 

Cas’ arms tensed around the bundle in his arms and his face grew heavy. When he looked back at Dean, his eyes were dulled by sadness. “I was on my way back from the village when I heard her crying. It took me a while to find the source of the sound but eventually I found her and her mother inside a rotted oak tree,” he explained, shifting the blanket bundle to one hand so he could delicately stroke the top of the kitten’s exposed head. “Her mother was sick. I think she may have gotten into something that she shouldn’t have. I stayed and tried to heal her over the next few days but---” Cas broke off and sighed; it was a broken sound that made Dean’s chest hurt. “I failed. She was too far gone for my power to help her; her kitten seems to be quite healthy so I brought her with me as there was no one to care for her.”

A sinking feeling settled over Dean as he saw where this was going. 

“Cas,” he said slowly, feeling like the world’s biggest dick for it, “we can’t have a bobcat in the house. It’s a wild animal and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.”

If Dean had thought the look on Cas’ face when he admitted he couldn’t heal the bobcat kitten’s mom had hurt, the agony in those blue eyes when he said this ripped him open.

“But Dean, if I release her into the wild, she’ll die,” Cas protested, his grip tightened on the kitten and he pulled it closer to his chest as if to protect his new charge from Dean. “You can’t expect me to knowingly abandon her. Besides, legality is a human construct, I can choose to ignore it if I wish.”

Dean took in the now determined and stubborn look in Cas’ eyes and sighed. _Shit...here we go again_ , he thought.

Holding his hands up in a placating gesture, he walked over and shut the still open door behind Cas. Cas eyed him suspiciously as if he expected Dean to snatch the kitten out of his arms and toss it out the door; Dean sighed.

“Listen, if it were up to me, I would say do whatever but you know that bastard from the neighborhood watch already has it out for us,” he pointed out. Cas flinched at the mention of Marv; if it were possible for a hippie nymph like Cas to have a mortal enemy, it would be Marv. “If that dick finds out we have a wild cat living in our house, and you know that fucker will find out, he’ll turn us into the game commission so fast our heads will still be spinning.”

“Then I’ll make sure he has poison ivy from now until the end of eternity,” Cas grumbled, his face contorted into a pout.

Smiling, Dean couldn’t help but chuckle. That dick really did deserve to have poison ivy for forever but that wasn’t the point of this conversation. He looked down at the little face in the blanket. A wave of ooey gooey warmth hit him and Dean’s fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and pet the fluffy tufted ears. The little thing was freaking adorable, damn it. Dean pulled his hand away and shoved it into the pocket of his hoodie. 

No, he couldn’t fall into the trap. They couldn’t have a wild animal in their house. Someone would find out and not only would they get slapped with fines out the wahzoo, the bobcat would be taken anyway. No, he had to be strong and say no. Maybe they could find a wildlife sanctuary to take the little thing in; Cas would be able to visit her and she’d be safe. Yeah, that could work, now he just needed to convince…

And then Dean made his big mistake.

Shaking his head to bring him out of his thoughts, Dean looked up from the floor and turned his head towards Cas and found himself with an eyeful of Cas’ pleading gaze coupled with a pair of innocent blue eyes that matched his boyfriend’s perfectly.

He wondered if that color was natural for bobcats.

_Fuck me_ , Dean whined in his head as he reached up to scrub roughly at his face. “Goddamnit,” he grumbled, startling Cas with his sudden movement. “Alright, enough with the guilt trip. The kitten can stay.”

Cas’ face brightened immediately and he grinned. “Don’t worry, Dean,” he assured him. “Raising a bobcat kitten will be no different from a regular one and once she’s old enough to survive on her own, I will reintroduce her to the forest.”

Snorting, Dean rolled his eyes. “I’ll believe that when I see it,” he said, trying to sound upset when in reality he was fighting the urge to ask Cas to hold the little thing. “ I think I might be able to go and pick up some milk replacer, she’ll probably need it since she’s so small, as well as the other stuff but I’ll have to leave now. Are you okay to be here with her alone?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be,” Cas asked, head tilted in confusion. 

Dean shook his head. Cas still didn’t understand that sometimes people just asked questions that they already knew the answer to but then, it wasn’t as if Dean could really explain that part adequately to himself. Taking a quick look at himself, he decided that a hoodie and sweats were decent enough for Wal-Mart so once he had Cas changed into some warm clothes and bundled up on the couch, he grabbed his keys and left.

 

An hour (and seventy bucks) later, Dean trudged back into the house, his arms ladened down with the essentials for caring for a kitten. He dumped his purchases onto the kitchen table and wandered into the living room, calling out to let Cas know he was home as he did. He cut himself off when he caught sight of the couch. 

Cas was sprawled out on the couch in a nest of blankets with a little ball of fur buried into his neck. Dean would be a filthy liar if he said that the sight didn’t make him feel like his chest was going to explode from cuteness overload but no one needed to know that little tidbit of information.

Checking the clock, Dean saw that it was still relatively early so he made the executive decision to let Cas nap on the couch for a little bit longer before waking him to go to bed; Cas had probably lost most of the energy he’d gained from going to the village when he’d tried to heal the kitten’s mother and he needed to rest. Dean turned out the rest of the lights in the house and kicked off his shoes before going to join Cas on the couch; he gingerly lifted Cas’ blanket swaddled legs and slipped underneath, settling them in his lap. Cas merely snuffled in his sleep, confirming Dean’s suspicions that he was exhausted.

Shaking his head at his boyfriend’s selflessness, Dean grabbed the remote and started channel surfing. Dr. Sexy was on one of the channels for next hour or so so he settled into watch, one hand absently rubbing at Cas’ leg. 

He was halfway through the episode where Dr. Sexy is briefly fired for performing a risky (but obviously successful) surgery when something furry brushing the back of his hand almost caused him to scream out loud. 

“Holy shit,” he gasped quietly, suppressing his shout at the last second. Heart pounding his chest so fast he felt light headed, Dean looked down to see a blue eyed ball of fluff looking up at him. “Christ, you scared me!”

The kitten looked up at him for a beat before continuing her journey over towards him. She stumbled her way over to Dean’s lap, setting her little paws onto Dean’s stomach. A tiny purring sound issued from the ball of fluff and Dean quickly found he was no match for the adorableness. 

“Damn it, I’m already whipped,” Dean said under his breath as he scooped the kitten up and held her to his chest. The little thing nuzzled into his neck and chest, purring up a storm. “You’re as bad as Cas with those blue eyes.”

The only response he received was an escalation in the purring in his ear. Resigned to the fact that the kitten, they’d have to come up with a name for her at some point, wanted to love up on him, Dean set her down onto his stomach and started gently petting her. The purring increased and Dean was surprised by how soothing the sound was.

Or at least he was surprised right up until he slipped slowly to sleep, lulled by the soft purr of the kitten in his lap.

 

Castiel startled awake as his body registered the warmth of the bobcat kitten was no longer at his neck. He blinked to clear the sleep from his eyes and was about to start using his newly recharged energy to cast out his awareness for the small creature when he noticed Dean seated at the opposite end of the couch. 

His head was leaned back at an uncomfortable angle and one hand was wrapped around Castiel’s shin but the most surprising development was the fact that Dean’s free arm was curved around a familiar splotch of tawny fur. 

He’d known that Dean’s protest had been mostly bluster. Despite his attempts to seem rugged and uncaring, Castiel knew for a fact Dean was a gentle soul. It was one of the many reasons he loved him.

Dean’s head twitched slightly. Castiel knew that Dean would regret sleeping the whole night sleeping with his head as such an odd angle so he carefully shifted his legs and sat up. He resisted the urge to chuckle when Dean’s arms tightened protectively around the kitten when Castiel attempted to remove her from his grip. 

“Dean,” he murmured, shaking his shoulder gently. “Dean, we should move to the bed now. Dean.” There was a surprised gasp as Dean’s eyes shot open but once he registered who Castiel was, he relaxed bonelessly into the couch and whined. “Come on, Dean. You will regret sleeping like this in the morning when there is a perfectly good bed available.”

Dean only grunted in response but after a beat of silence, he began to slowly shuffle his way off the couch and toward the stairs leading to the bedroom. Heart swelling at the familiar sight of sleepy Dean, one of the sights he’d greatly missed while away, Castiel followed behind with the kitten in his hands. 

Obviously too tired for any more talk, Dean collapsed face first into the bed and held out his arms in a silent demand. Over the course of their relationship, Castiel had come to learn that Dean was a highly tactile individual who enjoyed physical contact; he more than likely had not been sleeping well in Castiel’s absence and Castiel felt a twinge of guilt over this fact.

Unfortunately Castiel would need to continue his visits to the village for as long as he lived but, as he laid in the circle of Dean’s arms with his back to Dean’s chest and the kitten curled against his stomach, he realized that this fact didn’t necessarily mean that Dean needed to be alone while he was away. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through the kitten’s fur as he pondered this possible solution

Perhaps this little bobcat was exactly what they needed.

Smiling, Castiel allowed himself to drift towards sleep. He would still need to address the issue with Dean in the morning but judging by the way Dean had tried to prevent him from taking the small creature from him even in while he was deep asleep, Castiel doubted he’d meet much resistance.

Dean needed a companion for when Castiel was away and this little kitten needed them. A memory of meeting a nymph from Iceland years and years ago had Castiel smiling as an idea occurred to him.

“I think I’ll call you Una,” he mumbled tiredly as the pull of sleep dragged him back under, the sound of Dean’s soft snores mingling with the delicate purring of their new companion hastening his journey.

**Author's Note:**

> And there we go, enough fluffy wood nymph Cas to keep you going for a while, haha :)
> 
> I had entirely too much fun looking up info on bobcats which included watching far too many videos of bobcats purring. 
> 
> Also, fun facts: it is legal to own bobcats in some states in the US but since I never specified where Dean lives, I went with it being illegal. Also, for anyone who is curious, Una means friend in Icelandic (or at least that's what the internet tells me)


End file.
